


One Moment to Fall in Love

by ellacj



Series: 52 Weeks of Swan Queen [32]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/F, Fluff, Part one of three, Princes & Princesses, Teenagers, i still can't believe this ended up being three parts, swanfire brotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:18:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4559166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We never fall for the person we’re supposed to."</p><p>-Jodi Picoult</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Moment to Fall in Love

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't decided if this is going to be two parts or three, but right now i'm leaning toward three. yikes.
> 
> inspired by this: http://mishka47.tumblr.com/post/126046665617

The Mills’ are staying in the White Palace.

Emma finds it strange, of course, considering that the only thing her mother had for them up until now was disdain. They came from their kingdom to discuss what Emma’s father calls “adult business”, despite the fact that Emma’s nineteen already. _Nineteen and unwed_ , her mother will remind her every time she points it out. In Snow’s limited worldview, a lady isn’t grown until she’s found herself a man.

Regina, on the other hand. She’s the same age as Emma, older by a few months even, and she attends every meeting between the monarchs. She doesn’t even bother to hide her smirk when Emma’s shut out of the war room and forced to go down to the stables instead. The joke’s on her, though. Emma likes being in the stables. It gives her a chance to hang out with her boys.

Her brother, Leopold White, named for their grandfather (who, as far as Emma can tell, wasn’t that great of a guy) and the two stable hands, Henry and Baelfire. She’d rather spend time with them than negotiating in the war room any day.

“She’s just so insufferable,” Emma sighs as she reaches for a brush to groom Beetle. “It’s like she thinks she’s better than me somehow. She forgets she’s in _my_ palace.”

“You really hate her, don’t you?” Bae says with a chuckle.

“You don’t even know.”

Bae raises an eyebrow. “You talk about her an awful lot for someone that hates her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just be careful, Swan. Someone might get the wrong idea.” Bae sets down the saddle he’s polishing with a wink. “Don’t look at me like that. I knew about your thing with Lily, remember?”

Emma rolls her eyes. “You can think whatever you want, but it’s not gonna change how much I hate her.”

“Whatever you say.”

Emma finishes grooming Beetle and tosses the brush back to Bae. “I’m gonna head back in. Leo wanted me to help him with his studies.”

“Good luck getting him to concentrate.”

“I know, right?” Emma sighs. “I’ll see you later. And I still hate Regina.”

Bae smirks. “Get going, Swan.”

When Emma gets inside, Regina’s sitting on the floor outside the war room with an embroidery hoop in her hands and an intricately patterned piece of fabric draped over her knees. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Regina says coolly without glancing up. “They asked me to leave. I have nowhere else to be.”

Emma smirks. “You got kicked out?”

“They were discussing things that were irrelevant to me.”

“Whatever, princess.” Emma combs through her hair with her fingers. “I’m going to help my brother with his studies, you wanna come hang out with us?”

Regina wrinkles her nose. “I suppose I have nothing better to do.”

“That’s the spirit.” Emma leads the other girl down the long, winding corridors of the palace, neither of them saying anything until they reach the library.

“Wow,” Regina whispers as she takes in the walls lined with books. “I haven’t been in here yet. It’s beautiful.”

Emma turns to face her. “You like to read?”

Regina simply nods. She continues to look around as they make their way to where Leo sits at an ornately decorated table with Henry. “What’s she doing here?” Leo asks when he catches sight of Regina.

Regina pulls her face into a scowl, but Emma jumps in before she can say anything particularly scathing. “They kicked her out of the meeting and I figured she could help you, too. We both know I’m not that smart.” She chooses to ignore the snort of what she assumes is agreement from Regina.

“Fine. Whatever.” Leo turns to Henry. “This is about to get really boring. Escape while you can.”

Henry grins. “See you later, Swan,” he says to Emma on his way out of the library.

Leo opens his book and begins working on his assignments, turning to Emma and Regina whenever he gets stuck. While he works, Regina selects a book from a nearby shelf and flips through it, glancing up only to answer his questions before turning back to its pages.

By the time sunset rolls around Leo’s finished his assignment and buried his nose in a book, and the three of them sit quietly, each of them lost in another world. Emma yawns, stretches, and folds over the corner of the page before closing her book. “Come on, squirt,” she says to Leo, sliding her arm around his shoulders and squeezing. “We gotta go catch the stars. You want me to take you back to your room, Regina?”

Regina sits up with a frown. “I haven’t finished yet.”

“You can take the book back to your room.”

“I can?”

“Sure. You’re a guest here, not a prisoner.” Emma shrugs. “Your family’s got the same rights here as mine does.”

Regina nods with a tiny smile. “Thank you.”

“Come on, let me walk you. The corridors can be kind of confusing if you don’t live here.”

“I did get lost my first few nights here,” Regina admits.

Emma turns to Leo. “You head down to the stables, okay? I’ll meet you down there in a second. Don’t let the boys start the fire without me.”

Leo smirks. “Knowing them, they already have.” He waves over his shoulder and he turns down a corridor in the opposite direction, leaving Emma and Regina alone in the stone walls.

“You’re in the North Tower, right?”

“Yes. The very top.”

“Cool.”

They walk in silence for a minute or so before Regina clears her throat.

“Why did that boy call you ‘Swan’?”

“Who, Henry?” Emma shrugs. “It’s what he and Baelfire call me. I don’t wanna be the princess all the time, you know? Sometimes I just wanna be someone else.”

“Why ‘Swan’?”

“It’s this whole other persona they came up with for me. Emma Swan the fearless bandit, a thorn in the royals’ side.” Emma drapes an arm across the front of her and grips her opposite elbow. “Sometimes I think I’d rather be her than me.”

Regina nods, trapping her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know exactly what you mean.”

They arrive in front of the heavy wooden door that encloses Regina’s temporary bedroom, and Emma gestures widely toward it. “Here you are, Princess.”

“Why thank you, Your Highness.” Regina gives her a mocking curtsey with a giggle before straightening and composing herself with frightening speed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She opens the door and goes into the room.

“Hey, Regina,” Emma calls before the door closes. “You’re not half bad.”

Regina smiles. “Neither are you, Swan.” The door falls shut with a heavy _thud_ and Emma finds herself standing alone in the corridor with a stupid grin. With a shake of her head, she turns around and hurries through the corridors and out the doors, all the way to the stables. Sure enough, when she makes her way down the hill, the boys are already gathered around a small crackling fire.

“Damn it, guys,” she calls as she approaches. “You all have no patience.”

Leo raises his hands in defense. “They started it before I got here. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Whatever you say, squirt.”

“So Leo says you walked Regina back to her bedroom,” Bae cuts in with a knowing smirk.

Emma rolls her eyes. “She said she got lost her first night. I didn’t want to get in trouble if she got lost again.”

“Whatever you say, squirt.”

Emma shoves Bae with her shoulder. “Shut up. The stars are coming out.”

True to her word, the blackness of the sky is twinkling with tiny stars. “What do you see?” Bae asks.

“I see the Queen,” Henry calls out, pointing to the outline of a woman on a throne.

Leo points to another shape. “The Bear.”

Emma never sees any shapes. She’s not sure why, but her mind is never able to pick out the outline of anything. Tonight is no different. Even still, she likes to look up and see the beautiful glittering dots in the sky and spend time with her second family. Despite, or possibly because of, his teasing, Bae is and always will be the older brother she never got to have. “See anything, Swan?” Bae asks quietly.

“Nope. You?”

“Not a damn thing.”

Emma grins. She’s never felt comfortable among the starched and pressed gowns her mother puts her in, the sitting around while children and adults alike wait on her every request, the titles that mean nothing to her and everything to everyone else. Here, lying on the grass outside the stables, is where she’s happiest. She shifts closer to Bae and rests her head in his shoulder, and, just like always, he smells like home.

 

Over the next two weeks, Regina and Emma grow closer as Regina is continuously excluded from the war room. They have a lot of time to talk between trips to the library and the times Emma sneaks up to the North Tower some nights. They’re regular partners in crime by the time the full moon rolls around.

“So, listen,” Emma says as they recover from their latest giggle fit. “Leo and I are friends with the stable hands.”

“Right, I remember that boy, Henry.”

“Yeah, he’s one of them. We were all planning on doing some stargazing tonight since it’s the full moon and all. You wanna come?”

Regina raises her eyebrows. “You really want me to come?

“Of course I do.” Emma shrugs. “You’re not nearly as terrible as I thought.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Regina smiles slightly and leans back in her chair. “That sounds fun. I’ll come along if your friends won’t mind.”

“Trust me, they won’t.”

Sunset finds the two girls walking down the hill to the stables, a picnic basket slung over Regina’s arm. She insisted on bringing food in order to make a good impression on the boys, and Emma didn’t argue. She loves Granny Lucas’s cooking.

“Hey, Swan,” Bae says, jogging up to meet them. “Who’s this?”

“This is Regina Mills.” Emma narrows her eyes in warning. If he says anything to screw up the friendship she’s built with Regina she might never forgive him. “I invited her to join us tonight.”

Regina holds up the basket. “We convinced the chef to make us some food.”

Bae grins. “I’m not one to turn down food from the palace kitchens.” He turns to Emma. “Did Granny make it?”

“Yeah. And Red put a little something in there just for you before she went in for the night.” Emma smirks as Bae blushes. Red and Bae’s fondness for each other hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone, except maybe Emma’s own parents. She’s always thought they made a good pair, especially after Bae didn’t falter in his devotion for her even after finding out about the part of her that’s manifesting as they speak.

Bae opens the basket and passes the hot food around to everyone gathered around the fire and pulls out Red’s gift, tucking it into his shirt pocket without letting anyone see what it is.

“The moon is beautiful,” Regina murmurs as she gazes upward. She remains completely oblivious as Bae catches Emma’s eye and wiggles an eyebrow and she slaps him in return. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen the full moon.”

“How come?” Emma asks.

“Mother likes me to be inside when night falls.” Regina shakes her head. “I don’t like to talk about her.”

Bae nods solemnly. “You don’t have to.”

They lie silently for a long time, the background noise of Henry and Leo pointing out constellations breaking the silence just enough for it to be comfortable. Once the moon is at its highest point, Emma sighs and hauls herself up off the ground. “We’d better get back to the palace before they wonder where we’ve been.”

Leo is fast asleep when Emma goes to get him. She gently shakes him awake and he follows the girls back inside, rubbing sleep from his eyes the whole time.

Instead of going to her own room, Emma follows Regina into the North Tower and lies down on one half of the large bed while Regina changes into her nightgown. “So, what do you think of Bae?”

Regina smiles. “I like him. And he clearly cares about you and Leo.”

“Yeah. He’s been around ever since I was a kid, you know? Screw blood, he’s my brother.”

Regina doesn’t reply. She combs through her hair with her fingers once before climbing into the bed beside Emma. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too.” With the sudden proximity, Emma’s mind can’t seem to focus the words spilling out of Regina’s lips; only the lips themselves. They’re red and plump and just slightly parted, just enough that Emma can hear her drawing ragged breaths. “Can I try something?”

“What?”

“Close your eyes.”

Regina’s eyes flutter shut, and Emma catches sight of long, feathery lashes that make her breath catch in her throat. She moves forward, slowly enough that she’s gentle, but quickly enough that she can’t change her mind.

Regina’s lips taste like Granny’s cinnamon apples, and they don’t waste a second hesitating when Emma’s make contact. Her hand moves to hold the back of Emma’s head, fingers threading themselves through blonde curls, as their lips move as a symphony they write even as they perform it. It only lasts a few seconds, and when they break apart Regina dissolves into breathy giggles.

“Was I that bad?” Emma asks. She’s trying her best to stay smiling, but she’s confused and more than a little bit hurt when Regina’s laughing so hard she can barely breathe.

“No, no, you were great,” Regina gasps, finally recovering. “I do that when I’m really happy.”

“Oh. So you’re really happy right now?”

“Of course I am.” Regina slips her hand into Emma’s beneath the thick blankets and presses their lips together again, and all thoughts of Bae’s “I-told-you-so” face evaporate from Emma’s mind for the rest of the night.

 

They walk down to breakfast together that morning to find both of their parents sitting at the table silently awaiting their arrival. “What’s going on?” Emma asks.

“Have a seat, girls.” Snow gestures to the two empty chairs in front of her. “We decided it’s time to tell you what we’ve been discussing.” She sighs, turning to Cora to pick up her train of thought.

Cora folds her hands on the table. “I’m sure you girls know that our two kingdoms have a history of bad blood between us.” Her voice is smooth and cold, reminding Emma of the frozen lake in the middle of winter. Regina tenses beside her and Emma rubs gentle circles on her thigh under the table. “We fear that a treaty-based alliance won’t be strong enough because of that.”

“And?” Emma says.

“We’ve decided to unite our families through marriage.”

Regina frowns. “How is that going to work?”

David clears his throat. “Once Leopold is of age, the two of you will be married.”

“What?” Regina exclaims.

“Emma,” Snow cuts in. “Your father and I are searching for a prince for you, as well. We need as much support as we can get during these times, and frankly, it’s about time you got married.”

Emma stands up from the table. “This is bullshit.”

“Language!” Snow scolds her.

There’s a torrent inside her, one half of her having not recovered from the bliss of last night, the other mentally kicking herself for allowing herself to get attached to someone she should have known would be taken from her. “I’m not going along with this.” She storms out of the dining room without turning around, running all the way down the hill to where Bae and Henry are mucking out stalls.

“Hey, whoa, what’s wrong?” Bae asks as Emma hurls herself into his arms and buries her face in his shoulder.

“You were right,” she sobs into his shirt. “I like her. And now our parents are marrying us off.”

Bae pulls Emma out of his shoulder and gently wipes the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb. “You really like her, right?”

Emma nods miserably.

“So fight for her.” He smiles and squeezes her arm. “I know you, Swan. You can beat this.”

“You think so?”

“If you really want to be with her, you’ll find a way. You always do.”

Emma wipes at her eyes. “Thanks, Bae. I needed that.” She turns around and starts walking back to the palace with a new determination in her stride.

“Where are you going?” Bae calls.

Emma doesn’t even turn around when she answers. “I’m going to start a fight.” She quickens her pace, each step bringing her closer to what isn’t quite but could be love and the people she’s going to have to fight for it. Of course, for Regina, she’s prepared to do just about anything.

Because Regina’s worth it all.

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...


End file.
